Ampleforth Abbey is an impressive Grade II listed Benedictine monastery and school. Situated in one of North Yorkshire’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it has an equally outstanding reputation for cider and beer making.

The monks at Ampleforth Abbey won the Gold Medal for the world’s best cider in 2012. They’re very crafty here also producing a beer, fruit-infused gins, a cider brandy and a cider brandy liqueur. Come for a tour of the orchard, to walk or cycle in its lovely grounds or to taste the local nectar.

The Foodie Travel Guide

Tour the orchard

Taste Ampleforth Abbey cider or beer in the pub

Do the Mouse trail with the kids

Cycle or walk in the lovely grounds

Have A Monk’s Tipple

Monasteries have a great reputation for brewing and often produce beverages for financial gain as well as personal consumption. Belgian monasteries make beer as does Ampleforth. Dom Perignon, a monk, invented a certain Champagne and at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, they produce Buckfast, a tonic wine.

Tour Ampleforth’s Apple Orchard

Visit Ampleforth Abbey and take a guided orchard tour which runs on selected dates throughout the year. With over 2,000 trees, Ampleforth is the UK’s most northerly commercial apple producer. Over 40 different varieties of apple are grown here with 20 of these being local to Yorkshire. Ribston Pippin is the favoured variety but they use a blend of apples to ensure season-long ripening and a fuller balance of flavours.

See The Cider-Making

Orchard tours include a visit to the cider mill to see how their award-winning cider is made. Ampleforth Abbey cider is matured for around six months before being filtered and bottled on site. You’ll finish with a tasting session at The Windmill (Ampleforth’s private pub), followed by a lunch of soup, sandwiches and apple cake.

La Biere Anglaise

Ampleforth Abbey is also known for its beer. They’ve won several Great Taste Awards and in 2012 won Yorkshire’s Best Drink. When Benedictine monks escaped the French Revolution in 1793, they came back to England and eventually settled in at Ampleforth in 1802. They started brewing ‘La Biere Anglaise’ again and today it’s still brewed here using a similar recipe.

Tips

Cyclists can enjoy the various routes within the grounds including forest trails

Walkers can take a 6-mile walk around the estate

Look out for the famous ‘Mousey Thompson’ tables in the Tea Room. Children will love doing the ‘Mouse Tour’